Birthday Gift
by Jackie-Chanler
Summary: 16 year old Sean Grants heads to another town to choose his own Starter Pokemon, but on the way, his whole world flips upside down. Not the Birthday gift he was hoping for. Rated T for possible future violence.


Hello everyone! My name is JackieChanler, and in case you haven't noticed, this is my very first story. After I made this account, I went out of state for five days, and without a computer, the only thing to do relating to fanfiction was think. And as fate may have, the story kind of came to me. Of course, I did have to ponder over what would be best for the entire story in the long run, but the basic plot kind of hit me on the 7 hour long trip. Please read and review, I need to know what is good and what is bad about the story, my style, anything you feel can be improved, say so, it is greatly appreciated . So here it is... after a quick disclaimer.

I do NOT own Pokemon, if so, you would see this on the shelves. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, Game Freak, etc.

Now that we have that done with, enjoy!

_**Key**_

_italics: _thoughts.

**bold**: flashbacks.

- -: brief switch of view.

AN: Authors Note.

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Prologue

In the world of Pokemon, region of Hoenn, things were going so well. The teams of Magma and Aqua, bent on reviving the legendary creatures, Groudon and Kyogre, had been arrested by the authorities. The unusual weather caused by the battles of the two legendaries had mysteriously vanished. A new champion of the Pokemon League had been crowned.

The renowned Professor Birch, who gave the Champion his first Pokemon, was to visit the city of Fortree to study the Kecleons, a unique Pokemon found only close to the town. Before visiting, he sent a number of "tests" in order to choose candidates to be his pupils. The "test" required identification and location about Pokemon, type differences, and various items to use with them.

One lucky 15 year old boy, Sean Grants had received the news one day before his birthday. He was to leave Lilycove City the very next day to receive his starter. He couldn't believe he had been chosen. Sure, he knew everything on the test, but being chosen above all but two others... he couldn't sleep. It seemed to him that he had only gotten asleep when his alarm clock rang 6:00.

Waving goodbye to his friends and family, 16 year old Sean set off towards Fortree to begin his Pokemon journey! He bought plenty of repels to keep wild Pokemon away and berries to eat in case he got hungry. It took him five long hours to walk there, not including the rests, bathroom breaks, and times he got lost in the tall grass. He checked his watch: 12:55.. The ceremony began at 1:00. Things were going so great for him. Until...

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Chapter One: Destiny

I was passing by a house on my way to the other entrance of town thinking of how great the rest of my journey was going to be. What a cool way to celebrate my birthday. Embark on my own journey with my brand new starter Pokemon given to me by the famous Professor Birch. Awesome! That's when I heard the words that would change my life forever.

"Lilycove City is under siege! Buildings are in flames, streets are filled with bodies, and no prisoners are being held!", blared the T.V. inside the house.

I froze. My senses told me, "Here comes the punchline. The laugh track. Anything!", but I knew nobody would joke about something as serious as what the news reporter just said. The intensity of the words that just hit me was like taking a metal club to the head. I lost my balance. I fell to my knees and just stared at the ground.

_This can't be happening, this can't be happening, not to me, not there, not now. This has to be a dream. Wake up, stupid, wake up!_

Everything I ever had was in that city... or what used to be a city. My friends, my family, my home, my belongings... everything except my life and what I had with me was now in danger. He said no prisoners were being held, so that means no natural force had done it. Still dazed, I tried my best to listen to what else the T.V. said.

"Team Ragnarok, an organization that destroys anything that gets in the way of their plans, is responsible for the annihilation of Lilycove. The goals of this new group are unknown, and the only confirmed information we have of them now is that they leave nothing standing. Reports claim they take no valuables, and enjoy nothing more than the satisfaction of the deaths of innocents. That is all we have at this time. More information will be provided when we learn it.".

A million thoughts were running through my head as the report ended. _What do they want? Where did they come from? Why there? Why now? Why me?_ And a lot of others. All I knew was that I had to get back home. I got to my feet and quickly turned around and started to run as fast as I could. Of course, it was just my luck that as soon as I turned around, I ran right into someone. Hard. It knocked us both down.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'm kind of late for a ceremony I'm supposed to be at...", the other person said.

He was dressed in a white lab coat with a navy shirt underneath, brown shorts, and sandals. His hair was short and brown, and he had a beard. He also had a bag slung around his shoulder.

"I'm sorry too, but I really have to leave right now.", I said, "Lives may be at stake.".

"Oh...I see. If you're really in that much of a hurry, take this. You need it more than I do."

As he said this, he took a collapsible bike out of his bag and handed it to me.

"R... really? You have no idea how much this means to me!", I said, quickly taking it from his hands, making sure not to jerk it, before he changed his mind.

I slung it around my shoulder (luckily, it had a shoulder strap) and climbed down the ladder. After quickly assembling the bike, I mounted it and got ready to take off.

"Wait!", the man in the lab coat called from the balcony. "I have to know your name!".

Turning back, I answered, "Sean Grants!", and pedaled as fast as I could, not looking back even once.

-"Sean Grants? That sounds like... nah. He couldn't be the same one, could he?", Professor Birch asked himself while heading the opposite direction. "Something would have to be very important for him to give up coming to my ceremony."-

I flew on that thing. I could tell the bike he gave me was meant for speed. It was tough going through the tall grass with it but I somehow managed it. The time it took me to get back to Lilycove using the bike was thirty minutes flat. When I got there, though, I almost wished it had taken me longer. The pure chaos... it was overwhelming. I stepped off the bike and let it fall to the ground. They were obviously long gone, but the mess they had made... It was just as the news reporter said: Buildings in flames, bodies laying in the streets... no prisoners. The last two words rung in my head repeatedly. I had to get home. I had to know if they were all right.

As soon as I got there, I thought I took a wrong turn and ended up at the wrong house. What used to be my standard two story brick house now had one floor, which was completely covered in debris. I knew if my family was safe, they would be in the basement, and I made my way to where it was.

I always called it the most pointless thing ever, to have a concealed basement. I griped and whined how we could have had a pool in the backyard, a trampoline, or a high def T.V. for the money it took to dig a giant hole underneath the house. I thought we would never have to use it, it would never come to the extreme and we would have to evacuate to it. But of course, I was glad now that we had it, and nervously moved the rubble covering it up away.

The rug hiding it was still there. _Good! That means they couldn't have found them. Right?Unless... they never even made it that far._ I tried to focus on Option A. I pulled the rug away (which was stuck under a giant piece of rubble and took a lot of effort) and found the metal latch. I tried pulling it open to no avail. _Duh! It only locks on the inside._ I pounded the door yelling, "Mom! Dad! You in there?! It's me, Sean! Open up!". I waited for a response... nothing. I would have fallen to the ground and wept, if it hadn't happened right then.

"Clack", went the metal latch. I gazed at the opening, partially expecting my family, partially expecting... anything else. The figure stepped out of the basement and...

"Sean!", my dad happily announced as he stepped over to me and gave me a giant bear hug.

"Dad!", I said as I returned the greeting. "But where is..."

"Honey!", my mom proclaimed, in tears.

"Mom!" I joyfully and quickly went to her and was given a wet kiss on the cheek.

"Maaaaaaaaaa...", I said embarrassed while wiping the lipstick off of my cheek, but trying not to sound ungrateful.

"Sean! I thought I would never see you ever again!", she cried and embraced me.

"Can't... breath", I managed to get out before suffocating.

"Sorry.", she said "I just...".

"I understand Mom.", I said patting her shoulder. "So... what's the damage, Dad?"

"Well, this is the first time we have been out since the city was under attack. I doubt we're the only ones left, but the majority is..."

"Okay. Do you think we should go look for survivors?"

"That would be the right thing to do, son. Lead the way."

"Then it's settled. Dad and I will look for survivors while Mom keeps a look out for anything unusual. Let's move out."

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So... what do you think? Trust me, there will be a major "change" in the next Installment. Please remember to leave me feedback through reviews or just email me (look at my profile) and keep a look out for the next installment!


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